moments of community

Someone was asking a colleague and I whether we saw our work as political. I was aware of how little I had thought about my work within this context, preferring to place it within a sociological an environmental context.

I have thought about this further, and reflected on the momentary community during the tea parties with community groups. How can a museum or a lecture theatre be more then a museum and a lecture theatre, a kitchen, a living room, a community centre, a media centre, a place of information sharing, a place of idealistic chaos which creates a community, a place where the viewer is the performer, a place where a lecture theatre can become a stage, a place that invites active involvement.

So what are my motivations for this form of practice? I think these are areas to reflect on and consider - the wish to create a community, be part of the possibility of change, or a transformative moment, wanting to work within a social context, a wish to work in collaboration. All of these at times, and still reflecting.

I cannot ignore the funding structures, and question whether this impacts on ways of working; the social inclusion agenda for example. The artist needs to remember he/she is in the driving seat, after all we set up situations for groups, we hold the funding, we put out the invitations. Its essential to be self-reflective and honest about these agendas and intentions, when we work with groups, but being in a position of some power doesn't mean one needs to use it negatively.